


The Things Best Left Unsaid

by Lywinis



Series: One Shots -- Capsicoul [22]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Ultimate Spider-Man canon compliant (sort of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-03-09 19:45:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3262157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lywinis/pseuds/Lywinis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve has a date. He asks Phil for help.</p>
<p>What else can Phil do but go along with it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Things Best Left Unsaid

“I could use your help,” Steve admitted, leaning on the doorjamb and looking a little nervous. “I’ve never really been someplace this fancy, and I don’t think I have the clothing for it.”

“Me?” Phil asked, mild surprise washing over his face. “Why me?”

“You’re kinder about it than Tony would be,” Steve said, and Phil conceded that point. He swallowed, forcing his eyes to Steve’s face, and smiled.

“So you’re just looking for something for a night out, then?” he asked.

“Yes, the date’s this Friday, and it’d be a big help,” Steve said.

Phil tried not to let the jealousy well up for whoever Steve was taking out, and it didn’t seem to show, so that was good. He didn’t have any kind of claim on the man. Hell, he could barely bring himself to talk to Steve, let alone try the whole awkward flirting thing. He shook the thought off.

“Sure,” he said, moderating his voice carefully. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, and we can shop around for something nice.”

“Thank you, Phil,” Steve said, breaking out into a small smile. Phil couldn’t help but return it, his heart thumping stupidly fast in his chest.

* * *

_Relax, Phil, you can do this._

He took a deep breath, letting it out through his nose while Steve was in the dressing room. He knew that he could do this, but it was already pretty painful. The super soldier had poked his head out of the room, his hair messy and askew, wearing his a-shirt and asking if the shirt he’d handed him was the right one.

Phil had nodded, keeping his eyes on Steve’s face and not the way his shoulders bunched when he moved. The women running the department noticed him, though, and they were slowly stalking like sharks circling prey. Phil kind of wished he had a diving cage.

“Are you finding everything all right?” one of them asked him, her eyes on the door for a glimpse of Steve.

“Just fine,” Phil said through gritted teeth, his voice cheerful. “We’re just finding what he likes best.”

“Well, we’re definitely available for help,” she said, shooting him a smile. He smiled back, though it was more a baring of teeth instead of a friendly action. She wandered off, ostensibly to hide behind the slacks and watch from afar, before Steve emerged again, his shirt buttoned and smoothing his hands over it.

“This one?” he asked. It was a lovely shade of dark blue, and Phil nodded, his breath hitching before he moved Steve in front of the mirror to show him.

“You want stuff that doesn’t make you look pale,” Phil explained. “I’d say red, but Stark might try and brand you.”

Steve gave a rueful chuckle. “He’s already tried.”

Phil smiled at him in the mirror, then handed him the silk tie to try. He went to shuffling through the coats, looking for the blazer he really liked, trying not to stare at the lines of Steve’s back, the way the fabric worked on him.

His date was lucky, he reminded himself, steeling himself for the inevitable yank in his chest when Steve would have to leave. They’d had an excellent afternoon, meeting for lunch, breaking through the awkward silence with talk that gradually eased into actual conversation. Now Phil was putting the last touches on a nice suit for Steve, getting him proper evening wear.

“How’s this?” Steve asked, turning. Phil looked up and smiled. Steve’s tie was crooked, though the vest hung right and circled his ribs like a lover, smoothing his whole torso into something sleek and edible.

“Your tie, it’s a little crooked.” Phil moved in front of him, hands reaching before he realized it. He undid the tie carefully, a hairsbreadth away from Steve, and redid the knot, his fingers swift and sure. When it was done, he tucked it carefully into the vest and smoothed it before stepping back.

He realized what he’d done about a half-second later, pinking to the tips of his ears and cutting his eyes away. “I…sorry, I fixed it.”

His hands were shaking, but Steve inspected the tie with a critical eye.

“Looks really swell, Phil. I could never get the knots right. The girls, they tried to teach me, but I was kind of hopeless at it. I might have to call you on Friday to come and make it a good one, unless there’s some secret the rest of the tie wearing world isn’t sharing with me.” He looked a little wry, but he smiled. “Thank you for the help. I know it’s a lot to ask, with you being so busy and all.”

“Hey, I said I’d help if you needed it,” he said. “To be honest, it’s nice to get a break from the kids sometimes. High school is such a trying time for all of them, it’s hard to watch them grow up. But at the same time, it’s a bit like herding cats. An actual adult conversation with an adult really helps.”

Steve chuckled, turning to inspect himself in the mirror after shrugging on the jacket.

He ran his hands over the sleeves, and Phil wondered if he was remembering a time when the jacket would have dwarfed his smaller frame. Phil was silent for a moment, rearranging the jackets on the chair to better be returned to the rack.

“How are you and May doing?” Steve asked, tugging his sleeves. Phil blinked at the sudden question, mulling his answer over.

“She…well, she’s a wonderful lady,” Phil said, setting the hangar back in a jacket that hadn’t quite made the cut. “She’s just not looking for something serious. She’s got so much on her plate, and well, she and I want different things.”

It had ended months ago, with the Beetle crashing his date and making things much, much harder. Peter hadn’t helped either, snarking so hard at him, sometimes Phil thought he’d break something in his desire to show his disapproval. In the end, while he’d liked May a lot, it just hadn’t been a thing that had gained momentum.

Steve nodded. “Peter didn’t take it too well, as I remember.”

“Parker vehemently opposed it at every turn,” Phil said, smiling. “I was nowhere near good enough for his aunt.”

“Peter’s young,” Steve said. “You’re more than.”

“I—“ Phil reddened. “Thank you for thinking so.”

“Hey, it’s all right,” Steve said. “I’m just now getting back into the swing of things after seventy years. It can be hard, I guess, leading the life we do.”

Phil shrugged. “You moreso than me. Ever since the Helicarrier, I’ve been on leave of absence.”

He touched his chest, just over the scar, gently.

“Really, I just think I’m not cut out for it,” he said. His smile was tinged with a little sadness, but he’d learned to accept it. “Besides, Friday’s not my night, it’s yours. You’re getting back into the game, which takes a lot of guts. I hope everything goes well.”

“I hope so, too,” Steve said, smiling at his reflection. Phil’s stomach turned over. “I really like this one, but the sleeves and hems are a little long.”

“Got you covered,” Phil said, rousing himself. He called over one of the girls, who, not surprisingly, popped out as if she’d been listening. “Can we get this suit tailored by Friday afternoon?”

“Oh, of course, sir,” she said, reaching into her apron. “We’ll just need to take measurements.”

Before she could even get the tape out, Phil held up a hand. He pulled out a small notebook, ripping out a page and handing it to her.

“That won’t be necessary, but thank you,” he said. “I have his measurements here.”

The look of disappointment on her face was almost comical, Steve missing the exchange as he headed into the fitting room to change back into his street clothes. Phil smiled sweetly at her and began to gather up the discards to put away.

* * *

By Thursday, Phil wouldn’t call himself surly, but he was definitely feeling like he needed a break from teenagers and their problems. Still, he walked Parker and his team through that week’s exercises, made sure he and Sam were still working on getting along, and on Friday, he pushed back from his desk and clocked out at five, earlier than he ever had.

Some days, he just needed a break, and he’d earned this one. He took himself to dinner at a nice steakhouse, then bought a new book, intent on reading the pulpy western when he got home. He tucked it under his arm, and tried not to think about Steve’s date later that night.

If he did, he’d never relax.

She was more than likely gorgeous, and probably had every intent on taking Steve home that evening. It wasn’t like Phil could be jealous. Steve had never remotely indicated he might be interested in men, and though he knew he shouldn’t assume, Phil had earned enough heartbreak to know when someone just wasn’t into him.

He stopped himself there, knowing it was best not to dwell on it. Instead, he popped into the bodega around the corner from his apartment, and with a pint of ice cream under his arm, he made his way home to spend his evening relaxing.

* * *

It wasn’t working.

He was going to drive himself insane.

He tossed the book down with a sigh after he realized he had read the same paragraph four times and hadn’t absorbed it at all. Lying on the couch, his empty bowl next to him, he knew that this was a bad sign.

He was pining, for god’s sake. He should be happy for him – Steve was getting out, meeting new people. It was better than he’d been doing for a long time. He growled to himself and got up, taking his bowl into the kitchen before he wandered into the bathroom to take a hot shower.

Maybe it would clear his mind.

Rushing water made his thoughts squirrel harder, and he almost hated himself for it. It had always been this way, though. Since he was sixteen years old, his admiration for Steve had metamorphosed into some kind of crush. It only got worse when he met the man in person.

Steve was hard to dislike, most of the time. He was kind, and he cared. Yes, he had a chip on his shoulder a yard long, and it wasn’t hard to see it, but it made him more human, that much more real. Phil swallowed, closing his eyes and ducking his head under the water.

He wouldn’t allow this to affect his working relationships. He couldn’t.

He was just turning off the water and drying off when someone pounded on his door like it was an emergency. Phil tucked the towel around his waist, his hair still damp and sticking up in places, and pulled the door open without checking who it was first, irritated someone was bothering him enough to yell first and ask questions later.

“What—“ he snapped, then stalled, as he caught Steve staring at him. “Steve?”

“Hi,” Steve said, a little sheepishly. “Is...this a bad time?”

“I…uh, no,” Phil said, trying to work out what was happening. He stood a little to the side, his gesture inviting Steve in. “I just…let me get dressed?”

Steve nodded, then looked resolved, stepping over the threshold and backed Phil into the wall, shutting the door with his foot as he leaned in, his tie still crooked, his breath smelling like mint and his shaving soap almost overwhelming Phil’s own freshly scrubbed scent.

“Good.” He smiled at Phil and leaned in, grazing Phil’s lips with his own. “I got stood up.”

“What?” Phil asked, because really, Steve was in his foyer, and he was in a towel, and Steve was kissing him. It led to a lot of questions, foremost of which was _had he fallen and hit his head in the shower?_

Steve backed off after feathering another kiss across Phil’s lips, leaning on his arm and keeping Phil close.

“She stood me up,” he said. “I waited at the restaurant for two hours. Not even a text message.”

“I’m sorry,” Phil said, his lips still tingling, and still a bit dazed.

“It’s okay. I had some time to do a lot of thinking,” he said. “Lots of garlic bread and soup helped.”

Phil swallowed, Steve incredibly close, and he wasn’t inclined to make him move.

“How long has your heart done that?” Steve asked, pressing a hand to Phil’s chest. He shivered when Steve’s hand pressed against his scar. “And for me?”

“You don’t want to know,” Phil breathed. “Did I really not fall and hit my head in the bathroom?”

“What?” Steve asked. Phil shook his head, feeling slow and stupid.

“Sorry,” he said. “I just didn’t expect this.”

Steve grinned, and Phil’s heart did a little stutter-step in his chest.

“See?” Steve said, leaning in. “That was what I heard in the store. I wasn’t sure if I was right. Is this…okay?”

“Yes,” Phil breathed, moving closer and pressing his lips more firmly to Steve’s. “Absolutely, it is.”

“Good,” Steve said, his hands sliding down to rest on Phil’s towel. “Though, maybe you should get some pants on. At least for the first date.”

Phil reddened, his chest pinking, and that might have been what Steve was hoping for, because he smiled wider, resting his forehead against Phil’s, their noses just brushing.

“You have to let me go so I can do that,” Phil murmured, his fingers still wrapped in Steve’s vest from where he’d pulled him close.

“In a minute,” Steve said. “This is a much better date than the one I was having.”

**Author's Note:**

> I needed something fluffy. I hope you guys enjoyed. C:


End file.
